Policy paper

UK's 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) emissions reduction target under the Paris Agreement

Submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to provide clarity, transparency and understanding on the UK's NDC target to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels.

Documents

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution

Details

Under the Paris Agreement, each Party must submit its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for its emissions reduction to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) every 5 years, ahead of the relevant Conference of the Parties (COP).

NDCs covering the period 2031 to 2035 must be submitted by February 2025, ahead of COP30 in Brazil in November 2025.

The UK’s 2035 NDC target, announced by the Prime Minister at COP29 in November 2024, is to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% on 1990 levels, excluding international aviation and shipping emissions.

To aid interpretation of their NDC headline emissions reduction target, Parties to the Paris Agreement provide information to facilitate clarity, transparency and understanding (ICTU).

This document contains technical information about:

  • the scope, timing, sectors and greenhouse gases covered by the target
  • a high-level overview of the policies and measures involved in delivering the NDC
  • how the NDC was created
  • how it is considered ‘fair and ambitious’ and informed by the aims of the Paris Agreement and the Convention
  • how it was informed by the outcomes of the COP28 Global Stocktake

The UK submitted its 2035 NDC ICTU to the UNFCCC on 30 January 2025. It will also be available on the UNFCCC NDC registry.

The UK will produce an updated cross-economy plan in due course, outlining the policies needed to deliver carbon budgets 4-6 and the 2030 and 2035 NDCs on the pathway to net zero by 2050.

See the UK’s first NDC to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68% by 2030 on 1990 levels - this target remains in place.

Updates to this page

Published 30 January 2025

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